


for the sake of saving us

by malickilicky



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-25
Updated: 2013-06-25
Packaged: 2017-12-16 04:12:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/857630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/malickilicky/pseuds/malickilicky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's not that he wants Isaac to go, is the thing. If anything, he wants the boy right beside him at all times so he can protect him, but logically he knows that the safest place for him is far, far away from Derek. And if that means he has to pretend he doesn't care, well. Derek prefers him emotionally hurt and safe than dead any day."</p>
<p>Or, the scene they left out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	for the sake of saving us

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completely self-indulgent fic that I wrote to make myself feel better about last night's episode and stop myself from doing something embarrassing and overly dramatic like, crying. So yeah.

"You shouldn't of done that."

Derek sighs and doesn't pick his head up from where he's been cradling it in his hands since Isaac shut the door behind him. He can hear Cora just a few feet away from him, can hear the disapproval in her voice and he thinks, _not now. Please, not right now._

"Derek."

He thinks of ignoring her, of standing up and walking into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and trying to forget this god awful day. But he can't. She alway did have him wrapped around her fingers.

He sighs again and lifts his head. Just as he thought, she's standing in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest and a hard frown on her face. He suddenly flashes back to the day when she was eight years old and brought a bird into the house. It had fallen out of a tree and broken its wing. He remembers how his mother told her there was nothing they could do, it was going to die, and how she'd looked at their mother and said, with the strong determination of someone far older than eight years, "Watch me."

Three weeks later the three of them stood in front of Cora's open bedroom window and watched as the bird flapped its wing and flew out into the clear blue sky like it'd never been injured in the first place.

"You shouldn't of done that," she repeats.

"What?" He might not be able to avoid this moment, but he doesn't have to contribute any more than the absolutely bare minimum. There is no way in hell he's going to have a Dr. Phil moment with his long lost little sister tonight.

She huffs and for a second Derek thinks she's going to stomp her foot. She doesn't of course, because she isn't eight years old anymore. "You know what!" She exclaims, throwing her arms up. "We need all the help we can get!"

"To do what?" he asks condescendingly. "Kill Deucalion and the rest of the alpha pack? Get revenge?"

"Yes!" she all but yells. "That's exactly what I mean!"

"I think we both saw today how difficult of a task that's going to be." His chest gives a phantom ache as if in reply.

"Which is all the more reason not to kick off part of the team in the middle of the game."

He stands up and says, "I'm done with this conversation."

She takes a step toward him, face twisted in anger. "Derek, I don't understand what you're trying to accomplish here."

"I'm trying to keep him from getting killed!" He yells out, startling them both. But now it seems the floodgates have opened and he can't stop. "I'm trying not to get an already traumatized sixteen year old boy killed because I dragged him into a life he has no business being in."

"You didn't force anything on him. He knew what he was getting himself into when he said yes."

Derek deflates, the adrenaline of his outburst fading as quickly as it had come. "He would have done anything to feel powerful, to get away from his father."

"And you gave that to him, Der," she says, voice soft. She walks over and places a hand on his forearm. That phantom ache he feels whenever he thinks about his family flares to life, making his eyes burn and his throat close. "You gave him that power. But with great power comes great responsibility."

He chokes on a laugh, running a hand down his face. Jesus.

"They'll hurt him," he says, quietly. It's not that he wants Isaac to go, is the thing. If anything, he wants the boy right beside him at all times so he can protect him, but logically he knows that the safest place for Isaac is far, far away from him. And if that means he has to pretend like he doesn't care, well. Derek prefers him emotionally hurt and safe than dead any day. "Scott isn't in the pack and Boyd only is because he has nowhere else to go. They'll hurt him because they know it'll get to me."

She sighs, drops her hand from his forearm and runs it through her hair. "It's late and I'm tired." He notices for the first time her pale skin and the dark bags underneath her eyes. "We'll talk more in the morning, okay?"

He nods and she rises up on her tippy toes to kiss him softly on the cheek. She pulls back and gives him a sad smile before turning around and walking to her room.

The ache is back and he has to wait a few minutes before he can get it under enough control to do what he has to do next.

~*~

Scott is tapping his pencil against his desk in rhythm to the music playing on his laptop, trying to figure out how to solve an algebra problem, when his phone rings. He elects to ignore it until he sees the name on his screen. Derek only calls him when things are about to go to shit, or already have gone to shit.

He groans, drops his pencil and reaches for his phone. "Hello?"

"Scott."

Scott rolls his eyes because _yeah, who else?_ "What's up?"

Derek doesn't reply right away and Scott sits up straighter, worry and fear prickling up his spine. "What's going on? Is something wrong? Did something happen?"

Derek huffs, says, "Look I think Isaac is heading your way but if he doesn't I need you to go out and find him."

His eyebrows furrow in confusion and he leans back against his chair. "What, why?"

Derek hesitates and just when Scott is about to repeat the question, Derek says, "Because I kicked him out."

Scott stands up so quickly his computer chair flies across the room and hits the wall. "You did what?" He exclaims. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you?"

"Look," Derek says, annoyance bleeding into his voice. It only makes Scott more angry. What right does _Derek_ have to be annoyed at _Scott_? Especially after what he just told him. "I have my reasons, so will you just-"

"No, _I will not just_ , Derek. You owe me an explanation. Why in the hell would you kick Isaac out?"

"Because the alpha pack - it's a lot worse than I thought."

"Yeah, I know," he says. "Today at school-"

"No, Scott," he says quietly. "I mean a lot worse. I don't know if - they're here for me alright? They want me to kill my pack and join theirs."

All the anger bleeds away to shock. "Fuck," he breathes.

"I know. I need Isaac as far away from this as possible right now. He's the first person they'll go after. The first one they'll want _me_ to go after."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asks. "Why not Isaac? He's a part of this."

"Yeah, well," he says gruffly, back to the aloof, snappy Derek he's used to. "I don't want him to be. Like I said, I think he'll come to you but if he doesn't, I want you to go look for him. He can't be roaming the streets while the alphas are here."

"Yeah, I will," he says, dropping his head back and staring at the ceiling. Rogue uncles and kanimas seem like a walk in the fucking park now.

"Thanks," Derek says and hangs up.

"Your welcome," he says to the dial time. He sighs and hangs up, tossing his phone on the bed. He pulls his computer chair back to his desk and plops down, wondering how they're going to fix this latest supernatural shit storm. He wonders if they'll be able to.

He decides to wait another hour and if isaac hasn't shown up by then, he'll go out and look for him. Turns out he only has to wait another ten minutes before there's a soft knock on his door.

"Yeah, mom, come in!" he calls out.

The door opens and like he expects, it isn't his mom in the doorway. It's Isaac, clothes drenched and bags in hand. He looks anxious and shy in a way Scott has never seen him before. He sets his bags softly on the floor, clears his throat and says, "I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?"

**Author's Note:**

> also i have a [tumblr](http://www.halespawn.tumblr.com)  
> feel free to come cry to me about the general fuckery that is teen wolf  
> seriously, i need a crying buddy


End file.
